System and Method for Improved Healthcare Delivery

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the invention are directed toward a interactive system and method for improved health care delivery operated over a network in conjunction with a user device. The user device is connected over the network to an identification module which may be operable to identify a patient and associate that patient with pre-established criteria. A screening module allows a user to enter data into the user device which relates to the patient&#39;s pre-established criteria, while a monitoring module determines whether the patient has complied with the criteria. An output module may transmit information relating to the patient&#39;s compliance to the same, or another, user device. The invention may also include a database for storing information transmitted by the output module, an instant communication interface and an incentive generation engine for randomly selected or specifically targeted users.

PRIORITY

This application claims priority from provisional application Ser. No.61/482,683, filed on May 5, 2011.

This application relates to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/220,953,filed Aug. 30, 2011 “System And Method For Implementing A DiagnosticSoftware Tool,” filed on Aug. 30, 2011, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the operation of an improved healthcare delivery system, and more particularly discloses an integratednetwork configured to encourage preventative care by facilitatingpatient communication with healthcare workers and providing incentivesfor compliance with objectives.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Today's policymakers are searching for ways to reduce the burden ofcontinuously rising medical costs. Health care cost inflation haspersisted even in light of various policies and programs implemented bythe government (state and federal), employers, and insurers. Indeed,states with a high proportion of Medicare/Medicaid recipients often faceresulting shortfalls in healthcare budget, due to a scattered variety ofproviders and payers administering uncoordinated medical services.Without a central, comprehensive administration, the system is costlyand fails to provide the highest quality of medical care. Moreover, thissystem often leaves patients feeling powerless and disenfranchised.

Unsurprisingly, this imperfect approach to health care has resulted in avariety of undesirable consequences for patients, for instance, a lackof preventative care treatment options. Indeed, patients identified withrisk factors for a certain condition or illness often lack the knowledgeand/or resources to engage in a program of treatment, particularly withregards to preventative treatment. Moreover, most healthcare facilitieslack the resources that would be required in monitoring patientcompliance with preventative treatment. In addition, patients may findit difficult to review and perceive their own progress, which alsodiscourages long-term compliance. Accordingly, it would be advantageousto these patients to have a centralized system for encouragingcompliance with a particular treatment program.

Compounding the fact that patients are often unwilling or unable tomonitor their own treatment is the common lack of frequent, or evenregular, communications between patient and qualified health careprofessional(s). Because one physician typically sees many patients, itcan often be difficult for patients to contact the physician withspecific questions, particularly outside of regular business hours.Accordingly, it would be advantageous to these patients to have a way ofcommunicating with health care professionals regularly and reliably,outside of regular operating hours.

These problems with communication are further exacerbated by the factthat one patient may see more than one physician—for instance, a patientmay see both a primary care doctor and a specialist. Patients maytherefore be confused about which physician to contact with, forinstance, questions about a particular treatment option. Similarly, onephysician may not be adequately informed as to what the other physicianis doing, which can cause disruptions in a patient's treatment as well.

Another shortcoming of the current health care system is that it lacksany sort of incentive program for patients. Due to a number of possiblefactors, patients may be unwilling to engage initially or to maintain aprogram of treatment. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to thesepatients to have an incentive to participate in a program whichencourages the maintenance of a healthy lifestyle.

Accordingly, the present invention is directed toward a system andmethod for improved health care delivery which provides for improvedcommunication between a patient and the patient's health careprofessionals. This system encourages preventative care by facilitatingpatient communication with healthcare workers and providing incentivesfor compliance with objectives.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the invention, a computer-implemented system operatesto provide improved health care delivery to a patient throughcommunication over a network. The system comprises: at least one userdevice associated with a user, the at least one user device beingoperable on the network; a processor for implementing at least one of:an identification module operable to associate the patient with at leastone pre-established criterion, a screening module for allowing the userto enter data into the at least one user device relating to the at leastone pre-established criterion for the patient, a monitoring module,operable to determine, based at least in part on the data entered intothe at least one user device, whether the patient has complied with theat least one pre-established criterion and an output module fortransmitting information relating to the patient's compliance with theat least one pre-established criterion to at least one receiving userdevice; a database for storing information transmitted by the outputmodule; an instant communication interface; and an incentive generationengine in communication with the output module, the incentive generationengine being operable to assign at least one reward to at least onepatient or user.

In another aspect of the invention, a computer-implemented method forproviding improved health care delivery to a patient operates throughcommunication over a network. The method comprises: associating at leastone user device with a user, the at least one user device being operableon the network, and being further associated with an instantcommunication interface; identifying, by an identification module, thepatient; entering, by a screening module, data into the at least oneuser device relating to at least one pre-established criterion for thepatient; determining, by a monitoring module, whether the patient hascomplied with the at least one pre-established criterion by monitoringthe data entered into the at least one user device, the monitoringmodule being implemented by a computer processor; transmitting, by anoutput module, information relating to the patient's compliance with theat least one pre-established criterion to at least one receiving userdevice; storing the information transmitted by the output module in adatabase; and assigning, by an incentive generation engine incommunication with the output module, at least one reward to at leastone user or patient.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS AND EXHIBITS

The purpose and advantages of the present invention will be apparent tothose of skill in the art from the description in conjunction with theappended exhibits:

FIG. 1 a is a block diagram illustrating a health care delivery systemenvironment in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 1 b is a block diagram illustrating a health care delivery systemenvironment in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a computer system implementing ahealth care management engine in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an operating method for the healthcare delivery system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method of inputting data inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention;

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention include a system and method for improvedhealthcare delivery. Users of the networking system may be, forinstance, enrolled in a program administered by a hospital.

FIG. 1 a is a block diagram illustrating a health care management systemenvironment in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Aplurality of network user patients 10 a, 10 b . . . 10 n are connectedover a network 30 to a health care networking system 40. ParticipatingNetwork User Healthcare Professionals 20 a, 20 b . . . 20 n are alsoconnected over the network 30 to the health care networking system 40. Aprogram management organization 50 supplies a health care managementsystem 60 for operating in conjunction with the health care networkingsystem 40. The program management organization 50 may also be connectedover the network 30 with the health care networking system 40. However,the program management organization 50 may also be integrated with thehealth care networking system 40 more directly, such as by providing thehealth care management system 60 for direct operation through the healthcare networking system 40.

The network user patients 10 a, 10 b . . . 10 n may typically beindividuals connecting over the network 30 through the use of usercomputing devices such as desktop, laptop, or computing devices. Thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that the system may also becompatible with handheld wireless devices, such as a smartphone (e.g.,an iPhone, BlackBerry, Android device, etc.) or tablet device (e.g., aniPad). The network user patients 10 a, 10 b . . . 10 n may be requiredto be members of the health care networking system 40. In anotherembodiment, the user computing devices may also be connected directly toeach other.

The network user patients 10 a, 10 b . . . 10 n may be associated withthe program management organization 50. For example, if the programmanagement organization 50 is affiliated with a particular hospital orhealthcare group, one or more of the network user patients 10 a, 10 b .. . 10 n may be patients associated with, and/or may have been treatedby, that particular hospital or healthcare group. In embodiments of theinvention, as will be further described herein, the health caremanagement system 60 includes components for identifying, recordinginformation relating to, and providing rewards to network user patients10 a, 10 b . . . 10 n.

Furthermore, because embodiments of this invention may be implemented asa community-based health care effort, the network user patients 10 a, 10b . . . 10 n may have an affiliation with a locality. For example, thenetwork user patients 10 a, 10 b . . . 10 n may be associated with aneighborhood, city, state, or region of the country. While thisassociation will often be created by virtue of the residence of thenetwork user patient, the association with a particular locality may bespecifically designated by the network user patient. For example, anetwork user patient may want to retain an association with his or herhometown rather than his or her current residence.

The participating Network User Healthcare Professionals 20 a, 20 b . . .20 n may be doctors, nurses, physician's assistants, nurse practitionersor other medically trained professionals that have chosen to participatein the health care networking system 40. It will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art that varying levels of access based on relevantprivacy laws (e.g., the Health Insurance Portability and AccountabilityAct, or “HIPAA”) or other preferences may be assigned to the differenttypes of accounts. An account engine may be responsible for generating,maintaining and identifying user accounts and authorizations. In oneembodiment of the invention, a specially trained “health coach” may alsoqualify as a participating network user healthcare professional. In oneembodiment, in conjunction with their participation in the health carenetworking system 40, health coaches may visit network user patients 10a, 10 b . . . 10 n in their homes or workplaces at regular intervals torecord patient information or to provide other services described inmore detail herein. Depending on the level of care required by thepatient, this may entail daily, weekly, biweekly, etc. visits and/orfollow-up visits by the health coach or other healthcare professional.

The network 30 is preferably the Internet, but may be or include othertypes of networks. The network 30 may include a wired or wireless localarea network (LAN) and a wide area network (WAN), wireless personal areanetwork (PAN) and other types of networks. When used in a LAN networkingenvironment, computers may be connected to the LAN through a networkinterface or adapter. When used in a WAN networking environment,computers typically include a modem or other communication mechanism.Modems may be internal or external, and may be connected to the systembus via the user-input interface, or other appropriate mechanism.Computers may be connected over the Internet, an Intranet, Extranet,Ethernet, or any other system that provides communications. Somesuitable communications protocols may include TCP/IP, UDP, or OSI forexample. For wireless communications, communications protocols mayinclude Bluetooth, Zigbee, IrDa or other suitable protocol. Furthermore,components of the system may communicate through a combination of wiredor wireless paths.

The health care networking system 40 may include a known socialnetworking system such as for example, Facebook, Myspace, FourSquare orTwitter, or may include a social networking system designed specificallyfor the health care networking system 40. The networking system mayalternatively be a professional networking system such as, for example,LinkedIn. Using a social networking system such as Facebook, networkuser patients 10 a, 10 b . . . 10 n can join and create groups accordingto their unique needs or areas of interest. In one embodiment, thisfunctionality may also be available to the participating Network UserHealthcare Professionals 20 a, 20 b . . . 20 n. Users can choose fanpages according to their interests to connect and interact with otherstrangers. Users can also join networks organized by city, workplace,school, and region to connect and interact. With a professionalnetworking site, such as LinkedIn, registered users are able to maintaina list of contact details of people (or connections) they know and trustin the health care industry. Users may be able to invite anyone (whethera site user or not) to become a connection. This list of connections canthen be used, for example, to locate other user patients with relatedhealth issues, to seek support during ongoing therapeutic treatments, orto obtain the contact information for a particular health coach orspecialist. Another social networking system that may be implemented isTwitter, which enables its users to send and read text-based messagesthat are displayed on the author's profile page and delivered to theauthor's subscribers who are known as followers. With Twitter, senderscan restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or, bydefault, allow open access. Although Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, andLinkedIn are mentioned herein, similar or other networking systems mayalso or alternatively be implemented.

The program management organization 50 may be any organization capableof implementing the health care management system 60. In embodiments ofthe invention, the program management organization 50 may be or includea hospital or other healthcare organization. The health care managementsystem 60 may be implemented using one or more computing devices asdescribed herein and may include a records management engine (notpictured). The records management engine may be or include a computerapplication executed by one or more processors for performing thefunctions described herein.

FIG. 1 b is a block diagram illustrating an operating system environmentin accordance with an embodiment of the invention. User devices 110 a,110 b . . . 110 n may be connected over a network 130 to a remoteresponse system 120, which may further include or be associated with aninteractive compliance system 140. Remote response system 120 may becomprised of modules including an identification module 120 a, screeningmodule 120 b, monitoring module 120 c and output module 120 d. Anincentive generation engine 150 may additionally be connected to theinteractive compliance system 140 and further connected to other systemsor modules through the network 130. An instant communication interface160 may be operable to facilitate communication between the userdevice(s) 110 a, 110 b . . . 110 n, and the remote response system 120.In one embodiment, the interactive compliance system 140 may further beconnected over network 130 to a diagnostic inquiry module 170 asdescribed in U.S. Patent App. No. U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/220,953.

In this embodiment, the user device(s) 110 a, 110 b . . . 110 n may beassociated with an account which may further be associated with, forinstance, a specific patient at treating institution (e.g., hospital,private practice office, other health care institution etc.). The userdevices may further be associated with at least one health careprofessional, which may include physicians, nurses, health coaches andso on. These examples are not intended to be limiting. The user devices110 a, 110 b . . . 110 n may typically be associated with individualsconnecting over the network 130 to the remote response system 120through the use of computing devices such as desktop, laptop, portablecomputing devices, or mobile devices, such as a smartphone or tabletdevice. As described above, the user devices 110 a, 110 b . . . 110 nmay hold one or more accounts with a treating institution, such as ahospital, or other healthcare group.

The user device(s) 110 a, 110 b . . . 110 n may connect to the remoteresponse system 120 and/or interactive compliance system 140 over thenetwork 130. The remote response system 120 is associated with theidentification module 120 a, screening module 120 b, monitoring module120 c and output module 120 d, and operates in conjunction with theinteractive compliance system 140 that may itself be monitored by orotherwise operatively connected to the incentive generation engine 150.In operation, the user devices 110 a, 110 b . . . 110 n may send asignal to trigger the remote response system 120 by, for example,transmitting data such as a particular patient's weight or bloodpressure. The remote response system 120 receives the signal and maynotify the interactive compliance system 140 of a change in status. Theidentification module 120 a may then identify the user patient withwhich the transmitted metric is associated. Those skilled in the art mayappreciate that the patient may be identified in any number of ways,such as by name, social security number, assigned username and/orpassword (which may be designated by the user, or may be a randomlyselected combination of numbers and/or letters), or any other identifier(i.e., biometric data). In another embodiment, the user inputting theinformation is identified by the identification module 120 a by datasent over the network, which may include identification data transmittedby the user device itself, or by an identifier input by the user. Insuch an embodiment, the user may be, for instance, the patient, a healthcare professional, health coach, or any other authorized user. Thetransmitted information is then input into screening module 120 b, whichmaintains a record that may be associated with a set of values (e.g.,ranges, thresholds, etc.) specific to a patient's physical and/or mentalhealth status (which may themselves, in turn, be based on a patient'ssex, age, height, medical history, etc.). Monitoring module 120 c maythen determine whether the patient is, for example, within a pre-definedrange and/or under or above a pre-defined threshold. The output module120 d may then send an alert to other user devices 110 a, 110 b . . .110 n. For example, if a patient demonstrates a blood pressure above aspecific range associated with that patient, the output module 120 d maycause the remote response system 120, in conjunction with theinteractive compliance system 140, to send a message to the user deviceof the appropriate medical professional, which may include the userpatient's physician or health coach (i.e., “patient blood pressureexceeding maximum healthy values as of Oct. 1, 2011”). The output module120 d may also connect to a central server (not pictured), which storesall values and data relating to a patient's physical and/or mentalhealth.

In embodiments of the invention, the remote response system 120 mayprovide an interface accessible over the network 130 to display theinteractive compliance system 140, and receive input from the userdevices 110 a, 110 b . . . 110 n. Alternatively, the user devices 110 a,110 b . . . 110 n may simply be provided with a phone number or emailaddress associated with the remote response system 120 and may sendinformation to that phone number or email address. In such anembodiment, user devices 110 a, 110 b . . . 110 n could communicate withthe remote response system 120 via, for example, a text messagingservice. In another embodiment, the remote response system 120 may alsoprovide access to a social networking system, as described in FIG. 1 a.

The instant communication interface 160 and diagnostic inquiry module170 may be in communication with the remote response system 120 andinteractive compliance system 140 via the network 130 to convey specificinformation to an authorized, requesting user device 110 a, 110 b . . .110 n. The instant communication interface 160 may be, for example, achat box, web form, or other interactive communication format for a userpatient associated with user device 110 a, 110 b . . . 110 n to gainaccess to a live, trained medical professional. In one embodiment, theinstant communication interface is a 24/7 telephone hotline, which mayalso be accessible from a user device (for instance, through the userdevice's telephone capabilities or through its network connections,i.e., via a Google Voice account). Moreover, the user patientsassociated with user devices 110 a, 110 b . . . 110 n may further beassociated with electronic medical records, recorded and stored by thediagnostic inquiry module 170, and transmitted over the network 130. Inone embodiment, the information from the diagnostic inquiry module 170may be used to inform the screening module 120 b as to the idealthresholds and/or ranges for certain medical conditions (i.e., a patientwith a history of or at risk for diabetes should not allow their weightto exceed a specific threshold, the specific value of which may be basedin part on the patient's height and build; or, for instance, the typicalblood pressure values for a 50-year-old female patient). Those skilledin the art will appreciate that this functionality removes any necessityof duplicate entry of patient information and enhances the efficiency ofthe system. In other embodiments of the invention, the ability of thediagnostic inquiry module to assist health care professionals indiagnosing a patient's condition, as described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/220,953, filed Aug. 30, 2011, may also beimplemented as part of the system. In yet another embodiment, thediagnostic inquiry module 170 may include access to a database whichaccepts and records patient data (i.e., “patient's blood pressure is128/82 on Aug. 1, 2011[;]” “Patient's blood pressure is 125/79 on Sep.1, 2011”).

The diagnostic inquiry module 170 may also have access to a third partydatabase which may store and apply applicable Government regulations(such as Medicare or Medicaid), hospital regulations, and insuranceprocedures. Accordingly, the diagnostic inquiry module may, in someembodiments, further be linked to the billing process in whichphysicians are typically required to participate. Those skilled in theart will appreciate that a traditional fee for service remunerationmodel may be implemented in conjunction with outcome data in a patient'selectronic medical records. In another embodiment, necessary fees mayreflect adjustable compensation that correlates with the acuity of apatient's illness including any co-morbidities. Moreover, in a variationof the fee for service model, the system may eliminate the undesirableconsequences introduced by bundled payment options that appear to shifta fee for individual services, to a bundled payment that providers mustthen allocate amongst themselves in some kind of equitableapportionment.

The interactive compliance system 140 may be adapted to interface withthe remote response system 120. Alternatively, the remote responsesystem 120 may be integrated with the interactive compliance system 140.In embodiments of the invention, the remote response system 120 has thecapability to receive commands from the user devices 110 a, 110 b . . .110 n and execute any queries or commands, and to access informationfrom the interactive compliance system 140 automatically at thedirection of the user device 110 a, 110 b . . . 110 n (e.g., “UserPatient No. 12345 is in compliance with all health-related values forthe month of September 2011”). The remote response system 120 mayfurther communicate with the record processing system 120 to enable ordisable use of certain functionalities within the compliance systemeither system-wide, or for a particular subset of users.

The interactive compliance system 140 may further be operativelyconnected to an incentive generation engine 150, which monitorscompliance of users associated with user devices 110 a, 110 b . . . 110n, and may select certain users for rewards. The rewards may be basedsolely on merit (i.e., a prize for each user patient whose blood workshows cholesterol values within the user patient's pre-defined range),may introduce an element of random selection (i.e., of the user patientswhose blood work shows cholesterol within a pre-defined range, one suchuser will be randomly selected for a prize), or may be awarded on anyother basis deemed appropriate. In one embodiment, a health careprofessional may also be eligible for a reward if some percentage ornumber of the health care professional's patients are registered on thenetwork. The health care professional may also be eligible for furtherrewards if the enrolled patients achieve target medical goals (e.g., thenormalization of blood sugar after three months, weight loss of 15pounds occurs, etc.).

In certain embodiments, the incentive generation engine 150 may alsoreceive information from the monitoring module 120 c and output module120 d.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a computing system 200implementing a health care management engine 210 in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. Health care management engine 210 may be aprocessor. This configuration is merely exemplary and should not beconstrued as limiting. It is likely that multiple computing systems ordevices will be utilized to implement the method and system inaccordance with embodiments of the invention. The computing system 200may further include a processor 216, a peripheral interface 220, a userinput interface 230, a system bus 240 (not pictured), a system memory250 (not pictured), a network interface 290, a connected 1, transceiver,adaptor, or other communication device 292, and a memory interface 294.The system bus 240 may be provided for coupling the various systemcomponents.

Computers typically include a variety of computer readable media thatcan form part of the system memory and be read by the processing unit.By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media maycomprise computer storage media and communication media. The systemmemory 250 may include computer storage media in the form of volatileand/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) 260 and randomaccess memory (RAM) 270.

A basic input/output system (BIOS) 262, containing the basic routinesthat help to transfer information between elements, such as duringstart-up, is typically stored in ROM 260. RAM 270 typically containsdata and/or program modules that are immediately accessible to and/orpresently being operated on by processing unit. The data or programmodules may include an operating system 274, health care managementengine 210, other program modules 276, and program data 280. Theoperating system may be or include a variety of operating systems suchas Microsoft Windows® operating system, the Unix operating system, theLinux operating system, the Xenix operating system, the IBM AIX™operating system, the Hewlett Packard UX™ operating system, the NovellNetware™ operating system, the Sun Microsystems Solaris™ operatingsystem, the OS/2™ operating system, the BeOS™ operating system, theMacintosh™® operating system, the Apache™ operating system, an OpenStep™operating system or another operating system of platform.

At a minimum, the memory 250 includes at least one set of instructionsthat is either permanently or temporarily stored. The health caremanagement engine 210 executes the instructions that are stored in orderto process data. The set of instructions may include variousinstructions that perform a particular task or tasks, such as thoseshown in the appended flowcharts. Such a set of instructions forperforming a particular task may be characterized as a program, softwareprogram, software, engine, module, component, mechanism, or tool. Thehealth care management engine 210 may include a plurality of softwareprocessing modules stored in a memory as described above and executed ona processor in the manner described herein. The program modules may bein the form of any suitable programming language, which is converted tomachine language or object code to allow the processor or processors toread the instructions. That is, written lines of programming code orsource code, in a particular programming language, may be converted tomachine language using a compiler, assembler, or interpreter. Themachine language may be binary coded machine instructions specific to aparticular computer. Any suitable programming language may be used inaccordance with the various embodiments of the invention.Illustratively, the programming language used may include assemblylanguage, Ada, APL, Basic, C, C++, COBOL, dBase, Forth, FORTRAN, Java,Modula-2, Pascal, Prolog, REXX, and/or JavaScript for example. Inembodiments of the invention, Ab Initio™ software is implemented andstructured query language (SQL) is implemented for coding.

Further, it is not necessary that a single type of instruction orprogramming language be utilized in conjunction with the operation ofthe system and method of the invention. Rather, any number of differentprogramming languages may be utilized as is necessary or desirable.

Also, the instructions and/or data used in the practice of the inventionmay utilize any compression or encryption technique or algorithm, as maybe desired. An encryption module might be used to encrypt data. Further,files or other data may be decrypted using a suitable decryption module.

The computing environment may also include other removable/nonremovable,volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media. For example, a hard diskdrive may read or write to nonremovable, nonvolatile magnetic media. Amagnetic disk drive may read from or writes to a removable, nonvolatilemagnetic disk, and an optical disk drive may read from or write to aremovable, nonvolatile optical disk such as a CD ROM or other opticalmedia. Other removable/nonremovable, volatile/nonvolatile computerstorage media that can be used in the exemplary operating environmentinclude, but are not limited to, magnetic tape cassettes, flash memorycards, digital versatile disks, digital video tape, solid state RAM,solid state ROM, and the like. The storage media are typically connectedto the system bus through a removable or non-removable memory interface.

The health care management engine 210 that executes commands andinstructions may be a general purpose computer, but may utilize any of awide variety of other technologies including a special purpose computer,a microcomputer, mini-computer, mainframe computer, programmedmicro-processor, micro-controller, peripheral integrated circuitelement, a CSIC (Customer Specific Integrated Circuit), ASIC(Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a logic circuit, a digitalsignal processor, a programmable logic device such as an FPGA (FieldProgrammable Gate Array), PLD (Programmable Logic Device), PLA(Programmable Logic Array), RFID processor, smart chip, or any otherdevice or arrangement of devices that is capable of implementing thesteps of the processes of the invention.

It should be appreciated that the processors and/or memories of thecomputer system need not be physically in the same location. Each of theprocessors and each of the memories used by the computer system may bein geographically distinct locations and be connected so as tocommunicate with each other in any suitable manner. Additionally, it isappreciated that each of the processor and/or memory may be composed ofdifferent physical pieces of equipment.

A user may enter commands and information into the computer through auser interface 230 that includes input devices such as a keyboard andpointing device, commonly referred to as a mouse, trackball or touchpad. Other input devices may include a microphone, joystick, game pad,satellite dish, scanner, voice recognition device, keyboard, touchscreen, toggle switch, pushbutton, or the like. These and other inputdevices are often connected to the processing unit through a user inputinterface that is coupled to the system bus, but may be connected byother interface and bus structures, such as a parallel port, game portor a universal serial bus (USB).

One or more monitors or display devices may also be connected to thesystem bus via a peripheral interface 220. In addition to displaydevices, computers may also include other peripheral output devices,which may be connected through an output peripheral interface. Thecomputers implementing the invention may operate in a networkedenvironment using logical connections to one or more remote computers,the remote computers typically including many or all of the elementsdescribed above.

Various networks may be implemented in accordance with embodiments ofthe invention. These networks may include any of those described abovewith reference to FIGS. 1A-1B. Although many other internal componentsof the computer are not shown, those of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that such components and the interconnections are well known.Accordingly, additional details concerning the internal construction ofthe computer need not be disclosed in connection with the presentinvention.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may bepracticed with various computer system configurations, includinghand-held wireless devices such as mobile phones or PDAs, tabletdevices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmableconsumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like.The invention may also be practiced in distributed computingenvironments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices thatare linked through a communications network. In a distributed computingenvironment, program modules may be located in both local and remotecomputer storage media including memory storage devices.

Although the aforementioned components are shown as discrete modules,each of the modules may alternatively be integrated with one another. Ifthe modules are discrete, multiple modules may operate cooperatively aswill be further explained below.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an operating method for the healthcare management system in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. The method begins in S300 and at S310, users who wish toparticipate in the program register their user devices on a network. Invarious embodiments of the invention, there may be additionalcapabilities and/or requirements for a new user device that registers onthe network. In embodiments of the invention, user devices may bespecifically issued to a new user for the purpose of participating inthe network. In other embodiments, the network may be compatible with adevice that is already owned by the user. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that, as part of registering the user device on the network,some embodiments of the invention may allow for certain contactinformation to be programmed into the user device. For instance, afterregistering with the network, a user patient may instantly have accessto the phone number and e-mail address of the user patient's newlyassigned health coach, and/or, for example, the contact information to a24/7 user hotline.

In S320, a health care professional may use patient information torecord various data relating to the physical and/or mental health of thepatient on the health care professional's user device, which is alsoconnected to a network. These may include, but are not limited to,“healthy” ranges and/or thresholds for a patient's weight, bloodpressure, cholesterol levels, blood sugar, exercise regimen, and so on.Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the type and amount ofdata required for monitoring in this invention will vary from patient topatient. The health care professional may set these numbers after aninitial physical examination of the patient, which may be performed inperson (and which may also be performed in a number of differentlocations, including but not limited to, the physician's office, thepatient's home, a mobile medical van, etc.).

In S330, the user patient monitors his or her own compliance with thevalues set by the health care professional. This may include enteringinformation into an interface on the user device via the network. Insome embodiments, the patient may log in using a user identification andpassword be prompted to enter responses at regularly set intervals, theprompts being specifically intended for that particular user (i.e.,“Describe severity of ongoing knee pain in right knee[;]” “Describestrength of craving for alcohol/nicotine/drugs”). The patient may alsobe identified on the network by name, social security number, assignedpatient identification number, or through any number of otheridentifiers (e.g., biometric data, password, etc.). Furthermore,passwords, security questions, and or other security measures may beimplemented. In embodiments of the invention, a higher level of securityfor specific users or specific content would be available. In furtherembodiments, the prompts may solely request the user to enter numericaldata (i.e., “Enter the number of minutes spent engaging in moderate torigorous physical activity over the past three days[;]” “Enter weight asof 6 p.m. on Sep. 12, 2011”).

In S340, a medical professional may also input data at regular intervals(for instance, biweekly). This may be, for example, the result of anexamination by the treating physician or nurse practitioner, or couldalso be the result of an in-home visit by the previously describedhealth coach (or some combination thereof). In these and in otherembodiments, a routine physical examination is regularly performed onthe user to monitor compliance with the health regimen prescribed by thehealth care professional in S320. In S350, the health careprofessional's findings (i.e., the results of the physical examinationand/or bloodwork, etc.) are recorded and stored. In one embodiment,these results are transmitted to, and stored as part of, the patient'selectronic medical record. In S360, the input of the user and of thehealth care professional(s) is monitored to ensure that the health careprofessional's recommendations, as proffered in S320, have not beenexceeded or otherwise not complied with. In S370, the system enters thecompliant users into a drawing for rewards or other prizes atpredetermined intervals (e.g., monthly). As long as a user is aparticipant in the program, the health data recorded by the health careprofessional is continuously revised and updated as necessary inaccordance with the user's progress in S380. The process ends when theuser withdraws from, or is asked to leave, the network in S390.

In embodiments of the invention, there may be numerous recorded goalhealth values, with compliance being measured very frequently. However,as the user progresses, fewer values may be required and compliance mayneed to be measured with decreasing frequency.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method of receiving and recordinguser input made at regular intervals, as described in S330 of FIG. 3, inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. The method begins as theuser accesses his or her user account from a user device at SS410 via,for instance, the Internet (as described above).

Upon accessing the user account in SS410, the system may present to theuser device, a user specific interface in SS412. This interface maydisplay a welcome message, progress notes, updated goals, messaginghistory with the health coach or other health care professional or anyother information that may be relevant to the user. The interface mayalso provide internal links, e.g., to a webpage where the user may enterupdated data relating to the user's own physical and/or mental health(where the user is the patient), the physical and/or mental health ofthe user's patient (where the user is a healthcare professional), or toan internal social networking website. In the circumstance where thesocial network is not a pre-existing social network, i.e., where theuser interface and networking components have been designed specificallyfor the network described, such as in FIGS. 1 a-1 b, those skilled inthe art will appreciate that the social networking component may allowthe user to perform at least one of the following: design a userprofile, connect with other users, view the profiles of other users (ifso authorized), join user “groups” which allow the user to connect withother users having shared characteristics and/or a messaging component.

The interface may also provide external links, for instance, to a user'sFacebook account. In one embodiment, the system may link each user to atleast one social networking page which allows the user to interface witheither a health care professional (in one embodiment, the health coach),or with other similar users (i.e., a user patient who has been diagnosedwith diabetes may be linked to a health coach who specializes indiabetes patients, and/or may be linked to message board where otheruser patients also have been diagnosed with similar or relatedconditions). In this embodiment, linking may be accomplished inconformity to social networking system norms. For example, in theFacebook social network system, the user may be become a “fan” of theorganization. In the LinkedIn social networking system, the user patientand the program may become connections or the user patient may become a“member” of the program group. Furthermore, the linking components mayalso link the user to the health care management organization, such thatthe user becomes connected the health care management organization overthe social networking system. Thus, once users have joined a group orbecome “fans” of the health care management organization, the user'sactivities may be made visible to the user's social networking friendsor connections.

SS414, the user may enter the relevant data according to instructionsthat have been given to the user, in response to prompts or otherinstructions. This data is transmitted over the network in SS416, asdescribed in, for instance, FIGS. 1 a-1 b. In embodiments of theinvention, a user's information is open to any other social networkusers. In alternative embodiments, participants must specifically grantaccess to such information. Those skilled in the art will appreciatethat a parallel process may be implemented when a health careprofessional, such as a health coach or physician, inputs patient dataas well.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the network and systemdescribed herein may also be implemented in various embodiments, forinstance, in conjunction with tertiary private hospitals andinternational medical service provider (which may include, for example,JCAH accredited, Caribbean medical centers staffed by Board certified USdoctors which treat Medicaid patients). In addition, the network andsystem described herein may also be implemented with other publicservice functionalities, such as using mobile medical vans to visitunderserved and indigent population groups to bring medical care toindividuals who may otherwise not have access to such care. In anotherembodiment, the current network and system is implemented with a strongemphasis on nutrition for users (e.g., low-fat or vegetarian diets), andthe previously mentioned mobile medical vans may also operate to sellhealthy foods to underserved population groups.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been illustrated anddescribed in detail herein, it should be understood that various changesand modifications might be made to the invention without departing fromthe scope and intent of the invention.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one welladapted to attain all the ends and objects set forth above, togetherwith other advantages, which are obvious and inherent to the system andmethod. It will be understood that certain features and sub-combinationsare of utility and may be employed without reference to other featuresand sub-combinations.

1. A computer-implemented system for providing improved health caredelivery to a patient through communication over a network, the healthcare delivery system comprising: at least one user device associatedwith a user, the at least one user device being operable on the network;a processor for implementing at least one of: an identification moduleoperable to associate the patient with at least one pre-establishedcriterion; a screening module for allowing the user to enter data intothe at least one user device relating to the at least onepre-established criterion for the patient; a monitoring module, operableto determine, based at least in part on the data entered into the atleast one user device, whether the patient has complied with the atleast one pre-established criterion; and an output module fortransmitting information relating to the patient's compliance with theat least one pre-established criterion to at least one receiving userdevice; a database for storing information transmitted by the outputmodule; an instant communication interface; and an incentive generationengine in communication with the output module, the incentive generationengine being operable to assign at least one reward to at least onepatient or user.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the user device isfurther operable to access a diagnostic inquiry module for the purposeof assisting in the diagnosis of a patient.
 3. The system of claim 1,wherein the database is operable to associate the information relatingto the patient's compliance with the at least one pre-establishedcriterion with an electronic medical record.
 4. The system of claim 1,wherein the user is a health coach.
 5. The system of claim 4, whereinthe user regularly enters data into the at least one user devicerelating to the at least one pre-established criterion for the patient,at predetermined intervals.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the useris the patient.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the user regularlyenters data into the at least one user device relating to the at leastone pre-established criterion for the patient, at predeterminedintervals.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the instant communicationinterface is selected from a group consisting of: a telephone hotline,instant messaging functionality, video chat functionality, textmessaging service or web form.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein theincentive generation engine is operable to designate a subset ofqualifying patients, and to randomly select at least one winning patientfrom the subset of qualifying patients to win the at least one reward.10. The system of claim 1, wherein the incentive generation engine isoperable to designate a subset of qualifying users, and to randomlyselect at least one winning user from the subset of qualifying users towin the at least one reward.
 11. A computer-implemented method forproviding improved health care delivery to a patient throughcommunication over a network, the method comprising: associating atleast one user device with a user, the at least one user device beingoperable on the network, and being further associated with an instantcommunication interface; identifying, by an identification module, thepatient; entering, by a screening module, data into the at least oneuser device relating to at least one pre-established criterion for thepatient; determining, by a monitoring module, whether the patient hascomplied with the at least one pre-established criterion by monitoringthe data entered into the at least one user device, the monitoringmodule being implemented by a computer processor; transmitting, by anoutput module, information relating to the patient's compliance with theat least one pre-established criterion to at least one receiving userdevice; storing the information transmitted by the output module in adatabase; and assigning, by an incentive generation engine incommunication with the output module, at least one reward to at leastone user or patient.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprisingaccessing a diagnostic inquiry module for the purpose of assisting inthe diagnosis of a patient.
 13. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising associating the information relating to the patient'scompliance with an electronic medical record.
 14. The method of claim11, wherein the user is a health coach.
 15. The method of claim 14,wherein the user regularly enters data into the at least one user devicerelating to the at least one pre-established criterion for the patient,at predetermined intervals.
 16. The method of claim 11, wherein the useris the patient.
 17. The method of claim 11, wherein the user regularlyenters data into the at least one user device relating to the at leastone pre-established criterion for the patient, at predeterminedintervals.
 18. The method of claim 11, wherein the instant communicationinterface is selected from a group consisting of: a telephone hotline,instant messaging functionality, video chat functionality, textmessaging service or web form.
 19. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising designating, by the incentive generation engine, a subset ofqualifying patients, and randomly selecting at least one winning patientfrom the subset of qualifying patients to win at least one prize. 20.The method of claim 11, further comprising designating, by the incentivegeneration engine, a subset of qualifying users, and randomly selectingat least one winning user from the subset of qualifying user to win atleast one prize.